Viking Bronze Borre Dragon Pendant

A silver pendant formed as a miniature bucket with applied filigree bands to the strap handle and body. 2.57 grams, 24 mm



Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK.

Pendants in the form of miniature buckets have been found in a number of pagan Anglo-Saxon and Viking contexts and are generally made of bronze or iron, with gold examples being rare; three gold examples were found with the hoard from Hoen, Norway. Bronze bucket amulets have been found at Driffield in Yorkshire, and Vimose bog in Denmark, among other places. In form they represent wooden buckets bound with bronze or iron bands which have been found in Anglo-Saxon and Viking graves and are believed to have held mead or ale and were used to replenish the cups from which warriors drank. As amulets they probably represent the ecstatic power of alcoholic drink and the role of women as the dispensers of these precious beverages.

With a carinated outer face with stamped annulets and faux ropework above and below raised rib to the equator, transverse grooves to the terminals. 79 grams, 75 mm wide



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.

Composed of an openwork body adorned with bulbs, bar and loop above. 4.9 grams, 35 mm



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.